AUSTIN, Texas — It is not a surprise to Austinites that traffic in the area is getting out of control, so city leaders want to do something about it.
- City council looking into 15 strategies
- City considering incentives for commuters who use public transportation
- One strategy is to expand the reach of Movability
Austin City Council members are set to consider 15 different strategies offering incentives to commuters who take public transportation.
Tien-Tien Chan, transportation program manager for the Austin Transportation Department, said after speaking with stakeholders, one of the most popular incentives it to create a discounted “bundle” of access to transportation that includes buses, trains, ride-hailing services, e-scooters, and e-bikes.
“We want to provide different options for our residents, because it isn’t a one size fit all,” Chan said. “What that really signaled to us is that every rider, every commuter has a different way they get to work and different circumstances. For many transit works one day, but ride-hailing works another day or carpooling works another day.”
In a memo sent earlier this month to the City Manager, Austin Transportation Director Robert Spillar prioritized strategies from a report and narrowed them down to six recommendations.
- Transit passes for registered Movability members and focused marketing program
- Expand Movability to create sub-transportation management associations
- Transit use rewards program
- Personalized "nudge" pilot
- Gamification and frequent rider program
- Unbundle city-wide parking
One strategy is to expand the reach of Movability. The transportation management association works with companies to understand their mobility needs and tailor unique transit plans with their employees.
“It’s just so easy to go back to driving alone in your car and parking in that spot that was provided to you for free. If that’s taken away, that’s painful and now you’re going to take another option,” said Lisa Kay Pfannenstiel, executive director of Movability. “It’s really about behavior change. People aren’t going to change their behavior, typically, unless they’re in pain.”
Movability staff is currently helping 76 employers in Central Texas. Austin transportation officials believe by creating satellite offices throughout the city, they can focus on mobility challenges specific to those regions.
“The problems, the solution, and the attitudes about mobility will change from each geographic location. It certainly can’t be the same up at Tech Ridge or up around Dell in Williamson County, that you’re going to do in Riverside, because that population is just very different,” Pfannenstiel said.
Another potential pilot program is related to gamification, which could mean a frequent rider program or a mobile app that tracks commute trips and rewards for traveling at off-peak times.
Transit leaders also believe one impactful strategy is to require a separate fee for commuters who want to buy or rent a parking space at an apartment building, condo, or office. Chan said they want to show people the “true cost” of parking and driving alone.
“You are not stuck in traffic, you are traffic,” she said. “We can all contribute to bad traffic, and we can also contribute to improving congestion in Austin.”